Danish vs Norwegian Krag - Action strength/Chamber pressures?

grueger · Post by **grueger** » Sun May 17, 2026 1:20 am

to add on to this thread, has there ever been any empirical test with the pressures for the Krag actions? For the 6.5x55 chamberings I commonly see 40K PSI being touted as the max pressure - which is quite a bit weaker than the max pressure, but I have seen several chambered in 6.5x54 and one in .243 WIN, both of which are loaded much hotter than 40K. I've got a beater rifle that I'd love to mess around with and can't seem to get a clear answer as to what is "safe"; I imagine that will be "it depends".

Bernt · Post by **Bernt** » Sun May 24, 2026 3:13 pm

When you ask about Krags and chamber pressure, there's so much contradicting info out there. And mostly undocumented hearsay, even here in Norway. I have been looking for 1. Hand, period sources of information. The only documentation I have found that the pressure in the Norwegian Krag ammo have been reduced, was between 1894 and 1925, but it seems it was because better powders were developed. The newer powders simply gave less pressure. It's rather that at one point in time, the chamber pressures of modern 6,5x55 ammo have exceeded the limits of the Krag. Modern ammo is made for modern rifles and have a max. chamber pressure of 3800 BAR (55114 PSI).

Here's some documented facts about Krag chamber pressures, from various period books and manuals:

1: The Danish 8x58RD cartridge M/1908 had a maximum chamber pressure of 2600 BAR (37710 PSI). Source: Haandskydevaaben, Teknisk Del, Lærebog for Skydeskolens Elever, af Kaptajn V.C.Bisgaard, 1912.

2: From 1894, Norwegian 6,5x55 cartridges were loaded with two different powders. Cartridges loaded with “Ballistite” had a pressure of 3100 – 3200 BAR. The cartridges loaded with “Troisdorffer powder” had a chamber pressure of 3200 - 3500 Bar (max 50763 PSI). Source: K. I. Nandrup: Vaabenlære: Foredrag for krigsskolens infanterilinje I skoleaarene 1900 – 1901 og 1901 – 1902.

3: In a manual from 1928, the chamber pressure of the 6,5x55 ammunition is 3100 – 3200 Bar (46412 PSI). Source: Beskrivelse av 6,5mm gevær og karabin, 1928.

4: In an article about freebore and chamber pressure from 1992, Raufoss gives a max. chamber pressure for Krag at 3500 BAR and 3300 BAR as max. working pressure for a normal cartridge. Source: Trykkforløp I et geværkammer med friflukt 0mm og 6 mm. Svein Olav Olsen / Raufoss ammunisjonsfabrikk. NST 1992.

5: The Norwegian shooting organization DFS (Det frivillige skyttervesen = The volunteer shooters movement), have for a long time set 3300 BAR (47862 PSI) as max for Krag cartridges used in the organization. It’s also in the 2026 edition of their regulations. PS. When they state 3800 BAR for Sauer and Mauser, in Norway that means the M98 system. Source: Skytterboka 2026.

6: Just for comparison, Swedish military 6,5x55 ammunition used to have a chamber pressure of 3000 BAR (43511 PSI), in the 1940’s they upgraded their ammunition and the max. chamber pressure became 3300 BAR (47862 PSI). The latest source I have is the Swedish “Amkat” 1990 edition. Source: Försvarets Materialverk Ammunitionskatalog M7779-000190. 1990 edt.

Just keep in mind that in the old days, pressure was measured by the copper compression method (CUP), while the data from the 1990’s and later were measured with the Piezo electric method. The two methods will give different readings with the Same chamber pressure, so 3000 BAR in 1900, measured in CUP is not the same as 3000 BAR (Piezo electric) measured in 2026.